The discussion revolves around a new nurse who has made multiple errors and is feeling overwhelmed and anxious as a result. Other members offer support, advice, and personal anecdotes about making mistakes in the nursing profession. Suggestions include identifying patterns in errors, seeking counseling, and focusing on learning and improvement rather than dwelling on mistakes. There is also a caution against downplaying errors and the importance of taking responsibility for them to ensure patient safety.
I’m a new grad of about a year and a half, working as a floor nurse. Since I’ve started I’ve been repeatedly messing up. I’ve never harmed a patient, however, I’ve made 4 med errors now (some of which were purely my fault such as missing a ‘right’ of med administration, to some which were identified systematic errors). I’ve had a few non-med errors and near misses as well.
Each time I’ve felt completely devastated, immediately assessed the patients and informed the necessary people, then self reported. I create a plan to never have the same error occur again, write the plan down and talk to my manager. I truly reflect hard on each mistake and think about what I could have done differently. Luckily my facility has been non-punitive for errors but I just feel like such a huge failure since I keep making them. There are nurses I work with who have had decades-long careers without making as many errors. On the other hand, I’ve seen colleagues make mistakes in the workplace and choose not to report.
I can see forgiving a new grad making 1 or 2 mistakes, but I just can’t be okay with how many I’ve made. Each one keeps me up at night and gives me horrible anxiety. I am anxious every time I do a med pass. I just want to do well and of course never want to harm anyone, but I’m wondering if these string of errors is cause for me to quit (or be fired).
Am I alone in this feeling? Have other nurses out there made repeated mistakes like me? Should I just quit being a nurse?
Please do not turn into this type of nurse. This is HOW we hurt or kill our patients. Every error matters because it is someone’s life entrusted to our care. Do not brush them off, do not cowardly choose not to report (and learn from) them. Care deeply about them. It will help you improve, I promise. Don’t beat yourself up about them, and don’t sink into feeling horrible and depressed about them... but you should never stop caring. Nursing has long been considered the most trusted profession, but that is changing because of nurses who think and conduct themselves as above. Slow down in your administration of meds, make certain that you complete your “rights”, and you will grow as a nurse - then become the example to your colleagues. It is wrong (simply put) to do what this nurse admits she does. I don’t know who needs to hear it - but it is wrong, and it is not OK.
Its important to remember though that not all mistakes are equal. I have too made little errors that in the scheme of it all do not add up to potentially harming the patient.
yes, take all mistakes seriously but also use your critical thinking and put them in perspective. Like lets say I forgot to give the once a day colace due at 9 am and then realized this and gave it at noon. I would not be going into a tailspin over the actual event, because its not that big of a deal. However I would do some personal reflecting on why I forgot. Maybe I needed to improve my time management. In this way there is a path to improve yourself but with some perspective. If you made a huge deal and wrote yourself up for this the doc would just be like...um OK. Who cares.
I hate to say it (or not). 4 times is too many. One of these days it's going to produce a terrible outcome. Don't quit. Get in a zone during medication administration. Unless its life or death, don't be distracted. Concentration, ask if you have any doubts or questions, don't speak to others while administering, take your time, stay focused. You will be fine. I know it's easier said than done but you've got to get that mindset. Check / double check as much as you want. We have faith in you. Now go out there and do it.
I am with you 200%. I am a new nurse, I have been on the floor for 2 months now. I feel so incompetent, I cry a lot, yesterday I infused the fats from the TPN in 1 hr instead of 12 hrs. I question the same things you are. I see my other coworkers, also new nurses already on their own and they offered me instead 2 more weeks of preceptorship, which is a good thing but makes me wonder if I am a good fit. Is difficult for me to shake it off. It wakes me up at night and I feel kind of depressed overall.
You are so not alone I’ve been a nurse for two months and I feel overwhelmed and I am constantly making mistakes that I feel like could have been avoided, I always put my best foot forward and I truly do the best I can. I am wondering if nursing is the right career for me at this point. I hate the high levels of anxiety and feeling depressed and overwhelmed. I do t know why to do.
Ugh, I've been there! I prefer to work in areas that don't have high-volume med-passes for this reason. For me, OR and urgent care are two settings in which I feel I'm a better nurse, vs SNF and med/surg. In the OR, it's important to be meticulous, but you can focus on one case at a time (to some extent), and anesthesia administers most intra-op meds. In urgent care, you administer meds relevant to the situation, without having to pass maintenance meds too. I'm in urgent care these days, and I find that being familiar with our in-clinic meds, doses, and indications has made med-errors a non-issue for me now.
It's good that you're self-aware! If you like your unit, keep reflecting and refine your practice. If it feels like a bad fit in more ways than one, it's OK to keep looking for new experiences.
I really feel for you as I am in a similar position now but my management has now written me up twice. Granted my mistakes and errors were made under my preceptors supervision. No one was harmed and it did not negatively impact the patient. But I never got to go to management first, my preceptor went behind my back and even though I had voiced my want to talk to management on my own because it’s my responsibility, she went and did it without my knowledge. It’s so frustrating.
Please tell me how are you doing now. I am about a year in and I am feeling so discouraged and like such a failure that I am considering quitting nursing because of med errors as well.
kaylee.
330 Posts
Its important to remember though that not all mistakes are equal. I have too made little errors that in the scheme of it all do not add up to potentially harming the patient.
yes, take all mistakes seriously but also use your critical thinking and put them in perspective. Like lets say I forgot to give the once a day colace due at 9 am and then realized this and gave it at noon. I would not be going into a tailspin over the actual event, because its not that big of a deal. However I would do some personal reflecting on why I forgot. Maybe I needed to improve my time management. In this way there is a path to improve yourself but with some perspective. If you made a huge deal and wrote yourself up for this the doc would just be like...um OK. Who cares.